This series began with a clear aim: to expose the scale of incarceration in Texas and Alabama, trace its historical roots, and humanize its impact. Over six posts, I’ve examined how these two states—distinct in history but aligned in consequence—embody the extremes of systemic injustice.
Texas revealed the machinery: sprawling prisons, harsh sentencing, and the legacy of death penalty excess. Alabama revealed the memory: overcrowded facilities, racialized punishment, and the enduring imprint of segregation.
Together, they form a portrait of a carceral crisis that is not just historical—it is present, urgent, and deeply embodied.
🔥 Texas: Heat, Scale, and the Machinery of Indifference
Texas incarcerates more people than any other state. Its prison system is vast, its sentencing laws unforgiving, and its legacy of capital punishment still casts a long shadow. But beneath the scale lies a quieter cruelty: heat.
Two-thirds of Texas prisons lack air conditioning. In summer, temperatures routinely exceed 100°F. Inmates suffer heatstroke, hallucinations, and dehydration. Some sleep on concrete floors soaked with toilet water just to survive. These are not isolated incidents—they are systemic conditions.
Federal courts have declared the heat “plainly unconstitutional,” yet legislative efforts remain stalled. House Bill 3006, which would require cooling by 2032, passed the House but was blocked in the Senate. Even the funding allocated has been redirected toward expansion rather than relief.
Texas has the resources to change this. What it lacks is political will. Justice here begins with climate control. Mercy starts with cool air.
🔴 Alabama: Violence, Corruption, and the Collapse of Care
Alabama’s prisons are among the most violent in the nation. Federal prosecutors have described them as “unconstitutionally dangerous.” Inmates face rampant assault, sexual abuse, and death—often in overcrowded dorms with no supervision for entire shifts.
But the crisis runs deeper than neglect. It is rooted in corruption.
A whistleblower correctional officer reported that “90% of officers and supervisors are dirty.” Contraband flows freely, often smuggled in by staff and hidden in food bags. Supervisors have been seen returning confiscated phones to inmates. Overdoses are common. Officers admit to using violence casually, and some describe it as routine.
The DOJ found excessive force by staff to be widespread and often covered up. Lawsuits have cost the state millions, yet accountability remains elusive. Even minimal reforms—like installing cameras or fixing broken locks—have been delayed or ignored.
This is not just a staffing issue. It is a moral collapse. A system where those entrusted with care become agents of harm cannot be reformed without reckoning.
Justice in Alabama begins with truth. Redemption starts with repair.
🛤️ A Path Forward
The conditions in Texas and Alabama are not inevitable. They are the result of choices—political, historical, and moral. And they can be changed. Justice begins with naming what must be dismantled. Redemption begins with building what must replace it.
🔥 Texas: Shrinking the Machinery, Restoring Dignity
Texas must confront the scale of its system. Mass incarceration here is not just a policy—it’s a posture. Reform must begin with contraction and care.
- End the death penalty: Texas must stop sentencing people to die. The legacy of Harris County’s death sentences still reverberates, and the machinery of capital punishment continues to dehumanize everyone it touches.
- Mandate climate control in all facilities: Air conditioning is not a luxury—it’s a baseline of dignity. Every cell must be cooled. Every life must be protected from preventable suffering.
- Reform sentencing laws: Texas must reduce mandatory minimums, eliminate habitual offender enhancements, and expand parole eligibility. Long sentences do not equal public safety.
- Invest in restorative justice: Communities need alternatives to incarceration—programs that center accountability, healing, and repair. Texas must fund diversion courts, survivor-centered mediation, and trauma-informed reentry.
- Honor the humanity of incarcerated people: From medical care to visitation, every policy must be re-evaluated through the lens of dignity. The goal is not control—it’s restoration.
🔴 Alabama: Confronting Legacy, Rebuilding Care
Alabama must reckon with its past and present. The violence and corruption in its prisons are not isolated—they are systemic. Reform here requires truth-telling, accountability, and structural overhaul.
- Federal oversight and transparency: Alabama must submit to meaningful federal monitoring, with independent audits, public reporting, and enforceable timelines for reform.
- Root out corruption among correctional staff: Officers who traffic contraband, abuse inmates, or cover up violence must be removed. Supervisors who enable harm must be held accountable. Culture change begins with leadership.
- Reduce overcrowding through decarceration: Alabama must stop sending people into facilities it cannot safely operate. Bail reform, parole expansion, and sentencing review are essential.
- Protect vulnerable populations: Women, youth, and people with mental health conditions face heightened risk. Alabama must create trauma-informed units, expand mental health care, and end solitary confinement.
- Reframe punishment through historical truth: The legacy of slavery and segregation still shapes Alabama’s carceral logic. Reform must include education, memorialization, and reparative justice.
Justice in both states requires more than reform—it requires reimagining. It means shrinking systems that harm and expanding systems that heal. It means moving from punishment to possibility. From machinery to mercy. From history to hope.
This final post is not a conclusion—it is a call. A call to confront what remains hidden. A call to name what must change. A call to imagine justice not as control, but as care.
Thank you for walking this path with me.
On (In)justice 